Chadron High School outperforms state averages in the new ACT state testing!
Since this is the first year for Nebraska high schools to use the ACT for state testing, we have no comparison or trend data from previous years, however, we can see that Chadron High School exceeded the state averages once again in all subject areas, in fact, CHS juniors were 13-25% higher in proficiency than the state in every subject tested.
*“On Track or Above (Proficiency)” is a combination of students scoring ‘On Track’ and at ‘Benchmark’ on the ACT, roughly an ACT score of 18+ for each subject. The test is taken in April of the junior year, meaning students have 10 months of high school curriculum remaining before graduation.
The Nebraska State Accountability (NeSA) testing changed in 2017 for all public high schools. The ACT test replaced the state-created exam used in previous years for juniors (11th is the only high school grade tested). The ACT is the nation’s most popular college entrance exam accepted and valued by all universities and colleges in the United States. The move to the ACT test was made in an effort by the state to ‘raise the bar’ in expectations for successes beyond high school.
The subjects: ELA (English Language Arts), Math and Science as well as Writing are used for state accountability reporting. Composite and STEM scores are calculated based on an average of subjects and most commonly used for scholarship opportunities but are not specifically used for state accountability. Nebraska chose to rank each student based on their individual subject scores into one of the three following categories:
Developing - Students are likely to need developmental courses before being able to access credit-bearing first-year courses in the majority of Nebraska postsecondary institutions.
On Track - Students are approaching the ACT College Readiness Benchmark and are likely to be able to access credit-bearing first-year related content courses at some Nebraska postsecondary institutions without remediation.
ACT Benchmark - Students are equipped to enroll (without remediation) and succeed in a credit-bearing first-year course at a two-year or four-year institution, trade school, or technical school. Students have at least a 50% chance of getting a B or better and a 75% chance of getting C or better in a first-year related content course.
ACT cut score ranges established for each category:
ELA (English Language Arts)
1-17 Developing
18-19 On Track
20-36 ACT Benchmark
Math
1-17 Developing
18-21 On Track
22-36 ACT Benchmark
Science
1-18 Developing
19-22 On Track
23-36 ACT Benchmark
Chadron High School results:
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| CHS Subject Scores compared to 12 other Nebr. Panhandle Schools |
Other Notes
- The composite average for CHS juniors was 20.9 compared to the state average of 19.3 and national average of 20.8 (the ACT is voluntary for college bound students nationally versus mandated by Nebraska juniors).
- Looking at results of the complete ACT test, 49% of CHS juniors met 3 or 4 ACT Benchmarks compared to the state’s 29%.
- 32% of CHS juniors met all four Benchmarks compared to the state’s 19%.
- Over half of our students are already at the ACT Benchmarks in ELA and Math with over a year left of high school courses since testing was conducted in April of the junior year.
- The CHS Writing average was 6.7 compared to the state average of 6.3 (score ranges of 2-12).
- Even though our Science proficiency scores were 12% higher than the state, we have room for improvement. (CPS is currently undergoing K-12 standards alignment in Science.)
Additional Information
In order to increase the chances of success after high school, students are encouraged to:
- Engage in rigorous course work during their senior year
- Take part in a wide range of career exploration activities
- Build on existing strengths and address challenge areas
- Work with adults to plan for college, career, and civic life
- Gain work or volunteer experiences
- Participate in activities beyond the classroom
